


Hopes for the Future

by BeyondStars



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Gen, It's early days guys bear with, They'll be BFFs someday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 22:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12309396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeyondStars/pseuds/BeyondStars
Summary: Hak and Kija have a short talk about the only thing they seem to have in common: Yona.





	Hopes for the Future

It was the middle of the night. The sky was clear, the moon casting a pale glow on all below it, and there was no breeze. Hak, however, was not in the moonlight; he was under the cover of a tree, sitting behind a bush, watching the person who _was_ in the moonlight. Yona was up doing her late-night archery practice, her face flushed from exertion as she shot arrow after arrow at a nearby tree. The others had gone to bed a long time ago, but Hak only pretended to be asleep so that he could later follow to observe her progress. Possibly not the best habit to adopt, but Hak felt uneasy if she was out of his sight for more than a few minutes at a time. Even though the consistent _thunk_ of an arrow hitting a tree assured him she was fine, he still wanted to be close by. Just in case. He was so engrossed in keeping track of how many more arrows hit their target compared to last night that he didn’t hear footsteps coming up behind him.

“Are you still doing this?”

Hak started and whipped round, hand reaching for his glaive. Instead of an intruder, however, he was met with the confused and groggy face of Kija, who was looking at Hak like he had woken him up as part of a cruel joke. Sighing, Hak lowered his hand and turned back to face where Yona was several meters away. She had taken no notice of her spectators. Kija crouched down and crawled to sit beside Hak, the shade of the tree doing what it could to hide Kija’s seemingly natural brightness.

“What do you mean am I ‘still doing this’, White Snake? I’m keeping track of the princess’s progress. She hasn’t been at it for very long, I just want to make sure she’s doing it right,” Hak said, matter of factly.

“I told you not to call me that!” Kija hissed in a low voice. “Anyway, I don’t see why she feels the need to do this to herself when she has me to protect her.”

“Us,” Hak corrected. Kija waved a hand nonchalantly. Hak continued, “Like I’ve said before, I'm not totally happy either. However,” he paused, sitting up slightly straighter, “the princess is stubborn, always has been for as long as I've known her. Stopping her now would make me a huge idiot."

Kija considered this for a few moments, fiddling idly with a loose thread on the sleeve of his robe. "I suppose... for her to do this is quite honourable. I haven't been with her for very long, but any fool could see the determination she holds inside her. I don't think I've ever met a girl like her before."

A small laugh escaped Hak. "I don't think there _are_ any other girls like her. No one could be as reckless and stressful as the princess. There would be something wrong if she wasn’t throwing herself headfirst into _something_."

Kija had clearly forgotten where they were and what they were doing, for he was fully ready to start yelling about what Hak had just said. In a flash, Hak slapped a hand over Kija’s mouth, his protests now muffled. Hak could just about make out words such as ‘insolent’ and ‘disrespectful’. After Kija had finally calmed down, he lowered his hand again. Yona had still taken no notice. Kija didn’t look pleased.

“And yet, here you are, despite all your complaining. Why is that?”

“Like I’d tell you,” Hak replied, smiling sarcastically back at him. Kija scowled.

"Hmph. You might as well have left her somewhere if you're going to have that attitude. I gave you the opportunity to walk away and you didn't. You could have just-"

“I almost did.” Hak cut Kija off, the latter actually jumping a little at this revelation. When Kija said nothing, Hak kept going. “Not when you dropped that _incredibly_ generous sum into my hands, before that. I was going to leave her at my home, go off by myself to protect her from any backlash that could come from what happened that night. She could have lived a carefree life without worrying about anything at all." A smirk tugged at Hak’s mouth. “I underestimated her tenacity.”

Kija stared at him, processing everything he’d just heard, before smiling a little himself. "Well, tenacious is certainly one way to describe her. While I do not yet have a very deep understanding of your connection to the princess, as long as your goal is the same as mine I suppose I don't mind having you here." With that, Kija stood up, brushed dirt off his robes and started to move away. Hak chuckled behind him.

" _Ouch_ , White Snake. I was here before you, remember." Hak feigned offence and leaned back against the tree, crossing his ankles out in front of him. Kija whirled back round again, ready to complain about the second use of his nickname, when Hak began to speak again, just loud enough for him to hear. “If you're going to protect her as carefully as you keep saying you will, then I'll watch your back. Simple as that."

Kija made a confused noise, but Hak had obviously resorted to pretending he wasn’t there. Staring at his companion for a little while longer in disbelief, Kija wondered if he had heard Hak right, or if he was dreaming. Then he closed his eyes briefly and smiled to himself before turning and walking back to camp, the _thunk_ of Yona’s arrows still echoing through the silent forest.

Maybe there was a chance he and Hak could be good friends someday, after all.


End file.
